Engineering to film creatures in the wild

In situations where the “talent” is terrified of a human camera crew, a remote rig with the cameras in one location and the crew several hundred meters away is the best way to get intimate, close-up pictures. We believe the secret of success lies in the engineering, preparation and testing and behind the scenes work before you even set off for the airport.

In a typical scenario, our customers outline what they need and, working with the DOP we can suggest the easiest and most reliable way to achieve what the producer wants. We’ve just put a system together to use in a forest with a group of CamBall4 cameras linked with a single cable connection of armoured fibre to send the signals back. This was chosen to resist nibbles by hungry rodents. As the location is well off the electricity grid, David specified car batteries and a remote control relay to operate the lights. BR Remote built the system, tested it to be sure it was fully working, and after one day’s training the crew set off, and filming is going well!

The CamBall cameras were designed for this kind of work and remain a great choice for it, especially the latest model with its broadcast quality pictures, smooth movement, DMX and live action camera control. They are also entirely weatherproof, rated to IP67. But the success of a project like this depends on more than just the right choice of camera. The art of remote filming lies in the engineering the rig so that it will work correctly on location when the crew are a long way from home without the usual options for technical support.

Chatting to David, we realise how much of this Systems Engineering work BR-Remote is doing for clients and what a difference it makes when our engineers have already taken care of the integration and made the kit work together to achieve what the customer wants. We can use our own parts and other parts from other manufacturers. We build the system and make it do what you want, which is the whole ethos of BR Remote: “Your vision - Our focus”.

As you may not get this level of expert help from other places, this could be the overwhelming reason for choosing BR Remote and the CamBall4 camera range for your next project. Do contact us if you need an interesting remote camera rig.